Gentrification has been completely changing the city to cater to yuppies, while at the same time erasing the memory and culture of the poor and black and brown people that make up the majority of Philadelphia.

Some might say gentrification is an unstoppable force, a monster that is too far gone and is irreversible in its devastation. Although some of that may be true we don’t want people to forget the struggles of resistance to it or for those struggles to become invisible.

A compilation of texts, a contribution to a correspondence between those who desire anarchy and subversion.

It occurs, sometimes, this feeling of being in the right spot. Then someone says or does something that upsets the perceived balance of things, and the moment evaporates. For only a moment it was. And it begs the question; can belonging in a place be part of an anarchist life? Resisting to go with the flow of this society, contradicting hierarchical relationships, refusing to take part in cliches. Not exactly characteristics that go well with the seemingly effortless fitting in that this age of selfies advertises. Feeling estranged, sensing a distance with your surroundings is recurrent. And at times so chronic that leaving becomes a first, necessary step to being present again somewhere (else). But mostly one holds on to a place because besides all that repulses there is still more that attracts. Then the art is to not smother its contradictions in indifference or to smooth them out in illusions of unity, but to turn them in open confrontation based on the proposal for a different, liberated life. And maybe it is in these subversive relationships, that one can find a place.

Harrisburg, PA – The controversial social network Gab, closely linked with white supremacist and fascist organizers since its launch, has drawn public scrutiny and had hosting difficulties since Robert Bowers, a prolific Gab user, shot and killed 11 people worshipping at a Jewish synagogue in Pittsburgh, PA on October 27. Before the shooting, Bowers also used his account to interact with many prominent figures in the neo-Nazi and “alt-right” hate movements that gravitate to Gab.

Since then, Gab shifted to the domain registrar Epik, LLC, based in Bellevue, Washington, after its previous registrar cancelled services. Gab and its CEO, Andrew Torba, seem to still be dealing with legal troubles regarding the hate speech social media site, which could have implications for the company’s crowdfunding efforts.

Early in the afternoon of Wednesday November 7, Gab’s flagship account inside the service, and @getongab on Twitter, posted a subpoena from Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro’s office. The subpoena, dated Wednesday, was signed by Timothy R. Murphy, Deputy Attorney General at the Bureau of Consumer Protection. It was sent to Epik, which recently announced its relationship with Gab in a November 3 blog post claiming to “Let Freedom Ring,” while claiming “there is a duty to monitor and lightly curate, keeping content within the bounds of the law.” (Internet domain registrars publish records linking IP addresses with domain names. Epik’s CEO, Rob Monster, confirmed in comments below the post his company is only the registrar, and not hosting the site itself, contrary to some media reports.)

The Gab accounts, thought to be managed by proprietor Andrew Torba, boasted that they would defeat the subpoena, an order to collect and preserve all documents and material Epik might have about their Gab account. Torba previously claimed that he was cooperating with federal and state authorities in the aftermath of the Pittsburgh shooting, but a vow to beat the state authorities in court does not portend close cooperation.

Within a few hours both social media accounts quietly deleted the posts, after tagging various right-leaning media like Fox News and the Drudge Report to try to get their attention.

Observers such as Jay McKenzie and Michael E. Hayden archived the social media postings and pointed out that the subpoena directed to Epik, LLC had a “NON-DISCLOSURE STATEMENT“. Epik was “requested to refrain from notifying any person or entity, other than said Respondent, that a subpoena has been issued.”

While this isn’t legally binding, Torba’s choice to post the subpoena likely won’t endear him to the new domain registrar company, which now will have to incur legal expenses to either fight the subpoena or comply with it. Notably, the subpoena also specifies that Pennsylvania should get copies of “all productions already made to other state or federal government bodies concerning Gab.”

Before he deleted his comments, Torba falsely tried to frame the subpoena as a matter pertaining to Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996, which create a “safe harbor” of immunity for Internet publishers. Already well-tested in US courts, Section 230 would likely help Torba defend against possible lawsuits for some types of content posted by Gab users, but this is totally irrelevant to the subpoena itself. The subpoena does not claim any facts about civil liability relevant to Section 230.

By flippantly rejecting the subpoena, Torba may also have damaged his situation with crowdfunding investors, to whom he recently promised he would cooperate with authorities in solicitation materials noted below.

A banner was dropped in Wilmington, DE in solidarity with the Vaughn 17 that read “Prisons don’t keep anyone safe (A) #Vaughn17.” The message was directed to the people of Wilmington, the family and friends of the defendants on trial, the elders of Smyrna 5, supporters, and the staff of the DOJ and DOC who may happen to have looked out the window by the elevators on the 8th floor of the courthouse at 500 N King St during lunch break on the sixth day of trial.

To the defendants, we see you, we love you, and we fight in solidarity with your struggle to overthrow the oppression of the modern day slave plantation that comes in the form of the prison industrial complex.

Ruby Sanders moved to Philadelphia in the 1960s after escaping loansharks in the plantations of South Carolina with her husband and their first 7 kids. In 2016, after living in her home for 50 years, she was evicted from the house because of gentrification in her neighborhood.

Her, her grandson Speedy, another young man from the neighborhood, Yusuf, and several other neighbors tell us more about how rich white people moving to the neighborhood is transforming their community. They also explain how gentrification is part of all the racist violence their community has been suffering throughout history. From the so called “war on drugs” to police brutality and from mass incarceration to public schools being shut down, this community is being pushed “Out of the Way”.

We have uploaded this video directly to youtube because we want it to be screened and presented anywhere and everywhere people deem appropriate. We want this video to be used as a talking point, but more importantly as an organizational tool.

There are many different factors involved in the gentrification of communities around the world that are all too often not included in discussions around why. This is not an academic or an intellectual perspective on the issue. This is a community based perspective on how communities of color in particular are being criminalized and displaced from their neighborhoods for profit.

Combative Communication along with the community members from Francisville interviewed in the film agreed to put “Out of the Way” online so that people could screen it and use it as a tool to share this experience, motivate communities to organize, and contribute to the fight against gentrification. Please let us know about screenings or organizing efforts in your community. We would love to support how ever we can.